When to Start Writing the Personal Statement? Use same PS for each school?

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• 1 Like

  Alex Alum Member ⭐

  August 2016 23929 karma

  @LSAT4234
  
  So I don't think there is a right answer to this question. I personally think it is best to start as soon as possible though. The reason is because often you will need to write and revise draft after draft before you have a finished product you are happy with.
  
  Also, it is sometimes best to write your draft(s) and then come back to it days or even weeks later when you think of something new you would like to add/change. So I think more time is almost always going to be better.

  @LSAT4234 said:
  Also, could I use the same personal statement for every school or are these schools that have different personal statement topics from the general open ended topic? If so, which schools are these?
  

  For most schools you can usually use the same statement and they are general open ended. Do be sure to check though, because plenty do have specific prompts you will want to follow and adjust your PS as needed. However, it is doubtful you will have to do more than change some of it, rather than discard the entire thing.
  
• David Busis Member Moderator

  August 2016 7370 karma

  I agree with @"Alex Divine". I would strongly advise you to start your personal statement now, before your studying gets even more intense. Why? Because it takes time to figure out your topic, time to draft, and time to figure out what you really meant to say all along.
  
  This is the experience of many writers: you write a draft. You think the draft is excellent. You wonder if someone is going mail you some sort of award for your draft. You're pretty sure that, at the very least, the admissions officers are going to go home and talk about it with their friends and family. You show your draft to someone else. You receive some feedback. You realize that your draft is, if not complete garbage, not nearly finished either.
  
  And there's something else to consider. If you're taking the LSAT in December, you'd do well to get your application all set beforehand so that you can send it off after the LSAT. Remember that law school admissions (except for Yale) is rolling, so the earlier you apply, the more spots are open. If you shoot your application into the universe in late December, it will be at the front of the queue when the admissions officers come back from their break.
  
  You can find a lot more guidance for your personal statement in the Admissions Starter course: https://7sage.com/enroll-admissions/
  
  
• Dark Knight V Member

  August 2016 194 karma

  Thanks for asking this question, I'm in the same boat.